Austin homes playing hard to get, prices increasing

​​​​​AUSTIN - Sales data for August indicates that the median price of an Austin home is $265,000 — which is a slight drop from July when that number came in at $269,500, according to the Austin Board of Realtor’s monthly housing report. 

Considering 65 percent of Austin-area professionals earned less than $50,000 in 2014, workers in that salary bracket can typically only handle the financing for a home worth $200,000 to $215,000.

"The growing disparity between rising home prices and what Austin residents can afford, combined with low inventory levels, will continue to drive residents outside of Austin’s city limits to buy a home, putting further strain on our region’s infrastructure and resources" said Barb Cooper, the 2015 president of ABOR.

Between August 2010 and August 2014, the median home price increased $65,000 or 30 percent. The average home price in the Austin market now stands at $329,620, an increase of 6 percent during the past 12 months.

Here are some highlights of ABOR’s August report:

• 2,943 — single-family homes sold, up 8 percent from August 2014.

• $265,000 — median price, up 8 percent from August 2014.

• $329,620 — average price, up 6 percent from August 2014.

• 42 — average days on the market, unchanged from a year ago.

• 3,364 — new listings, up 2 percent from August 2014.

• 6,979 — active listings, up 4 percent from August 2014.

• 2,686 — pending sales, up 11 percent from August 2014.

• 2.9 — months of inventory, a fraction less from August 2014.

• $970.1 million — total inventory, up 15 percent from August 2014.

• 305 — condos and townhouses sold, up 1 percent from August 2014.

• $225,500 — median price for condo, up 5 percent from August 2014.